October is done! Where did the time go? I firmly believe that you are given only so many migrations….and this one is drawing to an end. In this month we banded 1,750 birds (not counting the owls and other species that were caught outside of “standard” hours or in non-standard nets). The Top 5 for the month:
Cedar Waxing – 378
Myrtle Warbler – 267
White-throated Sparrow – 185
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 181
American Goldfinch – 134
A very handsome adult Eastern White-crowned Sparrow. -KMP
Yesterday we got the first American Tree Sparrows of the season both here and in Oakville. These are Winter residents. We are particularly interested in seeing whether resident birds return to Ruthven from their far northern breeding grounds. This morning we got the first one! It was originally banded as a young (HY) bird on December 19th, 2014. It was recaptured numerous times in 2015 and 2016 – the last time being November 2, 2016. Welcome back! Wouldn’t you love to know it’s route and where it nests?!
One of two Fox Sparrows banded today. -JNJ
It was a cold and windy morning which limited the number of nets we opened. There weren’t a lot of birds around to entice us to do otherwise…..It’s as if the avian tap has been turned off. The variety and the numbers just aren’t there any more. Where are the wheeling flocks of Cedar Waxwings? The raucous strings of Blue Jays? The flitting of warblers? All have moved south. Time to get ready for Winter….and Snow Buntings.
Banded 13:
2 Mourning Doves
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Brown Creeper
2 American Robins
2 Fox Sparrows
1 Song Sparrow
1 Eastern White-crowned Sparrow
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
1 American Goldfinch
ET’s: 34 spp.
Rick